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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. Russia and the U.S. have agreed to start

working towards ending the war in Ukraine, though without input from the country where the

fighting is actually taking place.

During a meeting in Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two sides have agreed

to pursue goals, including restoring their respective embassies and creating a high-level team to support

Ukrainian peace talks. Question today about the lack of Ukrainian participation at the discussions.

President Trump largely skirted the fact it was Russia's invasion participation at the discussions. President Trump largely

skirted the fact it was Russia's invasion that started the war. I hear that, you know, they're

upset about not having a seat. Well, they've had a seat for three years and a long time before that.

This could have been settled very easily. Just a half-baked negotiator could have settled this years ago.

Ukrainian president, Belodemar Zelensky, meanwhile, reacted angrily saying he has canceled

a planned visit to Saudi Arabia after not being part of the discussions.

Federal health workers are taking stock of how the Trump administration's layoffs hit their

agencies, hundreds of termination letters, hit

mailboxes of staff over the weekend at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and

elsewhere. NPR's Willstone reports. CDC employees were told last week that about 1,300 workers

would be cut. So far, the number of people who lost their job is about half of that, according

to two current CDC staffers who

spoke to NPR. Both say it's not yet clear whether that's the end of the dismissals.

The Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health also lost workers.

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